Deal summary
Farmers Cottage Lamps Limited (trading as Ornate Gardens), a leading designer, assembler, and manufacturer of high-end garden buildings, has raised a £1.75million unsecured term loan to support the next phase of growth and bring in key employees into the ownership of the business. Ornate Gardens were advised by Jenny Moore and Roy Farmer of Dains Corporate Finance, with a long-term unsecured loan facilitated by Caple and a working capital facility provided by Barclays Bank.
Ornate Gardens, which is based in Maxstoke, was founded by Wayne Farmer in the late 1980’s and originally manufactured Victorian-style cast-iron lamps and water features. Their focus then moved towards the design and installation of high-end garden buildings and the company’s first garden pod was launched in 2007 at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The company now offers a range of nine different pods with bespoke interiors. The futuristic pods are made from spruce timber arcs and have a stainless steel exterior and include luxury seating and ambient interior lighting and can be equipped with heating. They come in a range of sizes and prices and the largest pod in the collection, the Grand Deluxe, is capable of seating up to 12. Ornate Gardens sells direct to consumers online and via trade shows, and also supplies through a range of stockists including John Lewis.
As part of the transaction, both Richard Hill (Sales Director) and Mike Hales (Operations Director) have invested in the business, with Wayne Farmer continuing in the role of Managing Director and remaining a major shareholder.
What our client said
Managing Director Wayne Farmer said: “I am very excited about the future of Ornate Gardens and I am looking forward to building the business further alongside Richard and Mike. We have a lot of exciting plans in the pipeline which will allow us to grow the company and develop some new and exciting products.”
“The team at Dains provided exceptional advice and were there during every step of the transaction, explaining every aspect as we went along and taking the stress out of the process which allowed us to focus on running the company. Their experience and expertise in the fund-raising and transaction process supported and guided me and the team to ensure that we successfully completed the transaction.“
The difference we made
As a firm, our relationship with Wayne Farmer goes back over 15 years. Under Wayne’s stewardship, the business had done tremendously well, but the business had reached a point where Wayne wanted to incentivize his senior management team through share ownership, capitalize in part on the value achieved to date whilst allowing the business to take advantage of future growth opportunities. Having considered a range of funding options we spent time identifying those funders that we felt were most appropriate to support Ornate Gardens with its growth and succession plans. We quickly concluded that Caple together with Barclays could provide the right funding solution and worked hard to conclude the transaction.
Lead advisor Jenny Moore from Dains Corporate Finance added: "It has been a delight to work with Wayne and his team on this transaction. Wayne has a great product range and has developed a real niche in the sector. The growth of the company has been built on a reputation for delivering high-quality products to their customers and Wayne and his team are now in a great position to push on and grow the business further. The transaction assists with Wayne’s succession plans and brings Richard and Mike onto the board alongside Wayne so they can continue the journey together as shareholders.”
Sean Brophy, UK Country Manager of Caple, added: “Successful firms such as Ornate Gardens need funding for ownership and growth, although in a business that lacks assets that can be used to provide security, raising bank funding can be challenging. By working alongside Ornate Garden’s bank, we supported a blend of long-term unsecured financing that enables Wayne to bring new owners into the business and implement its growth plans.”
Advisers and funders
Corporate finance advice was provided by Jenny Moore and Roy Farmer of Dains Corporate Finance and tax advice by Adam Longmore and Charlotte Gosling of Dains LLP. Funding was facilitated by Sean Brophy and Gurdeep Dhillon of Caple and Steph Perry of Barclays Bank. Legal advice was provided by Mike McMahon of Weightmans.